The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has been announced by The Astronauts, a new studio made up of former People Can Fly staff.

Inspired by the weird fiction stories of the early 20th century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter revolves around a detective with the supernatural ability to visualise scenes of lethal crimes.

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Journeying to a "beautiful mountain area", the protagonist must use his paranormal skills and modern detective tools to investigate a trail of corpses and an ancient force while attempting to recover a kidnapped boy.

The game is being developed using the Unreal Engine 3, as well as a new technology which will be revealed in the coming months.

Game designer and former People Can Fly co-founder Adrian Chmielarz said that the title focuses on exploration, discovery and immersion.

"What we care about the most is that the players feel like they're really there. Immersion is our number one priority," explained Chmielarz.

"It's a game about exploration and discovery. We're not abandoning the gameplay - on the contrary: we're trying to strip it down to the bone and make sure it's always meaningful and truly makes the experience better," he added.

People Can Fly are currently working on Gears of War: Judgement, having previously worked on Bulletstorm.

Announced at the E3 gaming Expo, Gears of War: Judgement focuses on the trial of Baird and the rest of Kilo Squad, who are accused of desertion, cowardice, trespassing, theft of experimental military tech and treason.

The trial will be overseen by Colonel Loomis, who is described as a by-the-book COG leader.

The game will feature enhanced controls and an adaptable difficulty level similar to that of Left 4 Dead, which means that no two campaign runs will be the same.

Gears of War: Judgement will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 on March 19, 2013.